EXT WESTMINSTER MORNING
The Thames is lit like a Turner. The colours of the sun splashed across the rippling water as if the artist himself has painted it. Fiery reds. Warm oranges.
A tall ship struggles against the outgoing tide in front of the Palace of Westminster.
Its sails are ragged. It lists to one side as if taking on water.
Two figures stand at the prow. A man and a woman. The woman has climbed onto the prow as the man holds her around the waist. They are remaking the famous scene from ‘Titanic’.
CLOSE ON
The woman and the man. KATE HOEY and NIGEL FARAGE.
NIGEL FARAGE is smoking. Great clouds of smoke envelope KATE HOEY. She struggles to keep her balance. She struggles to breathe.
KATE HOEY
“Bloody hell Nigel. As if the Brut aftershave you’ve drowned yourself in isn’t enough.”
NIGEL FARAGE
“Christ. Why the hell did you hire a boat without a bar on it?”
KATE HOEY
“Shouldn’t the fish have been here by now? I can’t stand much more of this.”
NIGEL FARAGE
“I’ve told them there’s a fish market at Westminster today. There they are.”
PULL BACK
Look upstream from the tall ship. See the river full of all manner of ageing fishing boats. Regional flags tells us they come from every coastal region of the United Kingdom.
KATE HOEY
“Can we get a move on sinking this gullible lot? I’ve got to attend the inaugural chicken de-cholorination festival in an hour.”
NIGEL FARAGE
“One by one they float down here. One by one I’ll sink them. Fe fi fo fum, I smell the tears of an Englishman.”
One boat moves forward from the rest. We hear its engine struggling as it pulls alongside the tall ship.
A FISHERMAN who looks like a ghost points mutely at the crates of fish on his deck. He’s missing fingers. There’s so many fish.
FISHERMAN
“Ready when you are Mr Farage.”
NIGEL FARAGE begins to laugh. He’s so amused he starts hacking a smoker’s cough. He can barely breathe.
He releases KATE HOEY.
CLOSE ON
KATE HOEY flaps her arms madly. It looks like she’s going to fall into the water.
KATE HOEY
“Nigel you reptilian shit. Catch me.”
Slowly, so slowly, NIGEL FARAGE reaches out through his hacking and gives KATE HOEY a shove.
END SCENE